Occasionally Eli puts his pants on backwards. The other day I pointed it out to him and he said he wanted them that way. He also says that when he has his shoes on the wrong feet, and unfortunately I worry that it is his prideful way of stubbornly refusing to change. But maybe I’m over-thinking it…

**I apologize for the lousy formatting of this post. Blogger will not cooperate and I’ve had it. If you know how to fix this problem let me know.

My grandparents all passed away when I was young, so I feel blessed to have married into a family of wonderful grandparents. I believe the grandparent-grandchild relationship is the most mutually forgiving and tolerant family relationship. It is so… comfortable. Our grandparents are so forgiving of our faults, perhaps even more than our parents. And in return we are forgiving of them. We tolerate their too-personal questions, unsolicited advice and spoiling of our children better than when our parents do these things. The generation that separates us gives us more room for humor and patience I guess. Or maybe I speak too generally, and this relationship is unique to me and my grandparent-in-laws. Regardless, I love it.

This weekend we road-tripped over to eastern Idaho to visit Richard’s grandparents. (And other family and friends.) It was delightful. They are such generous hosts. Ray and Larene Bird are the least idle people I know. I was so motivated to be a better, less lazy mother as I watched them. Grandpa just does whatever needs to be done, and then some. If he doesn’t know how to do something he asks and learns. Grandma prepares meticulous meals from scratch and then cleans up the mess without complaint. This is just the way life is for them. They do so much work without ever acting like it is work. I admire them so much.

Grandma says that the horses are Grandpa’s best friends. When they see him and he whistles to them, they come a-gallopin’. We also got to see Sam, the new colt. Turns out Sam and Simon have a lot in common. A couple horses in the pasture got a little too friendly and SUPRISE.

Don’t worry Lori, it was just up and down the driveway out at the farm.

The Bird’s own a Motel with a pool where we did a little swimming. We thought Miriam would love it, but for the first time in her life she was happier just watching.

Grandma and Grandpa Wray got to meet Simon for the first time, and spoil all the kids with belated Easter treats.

An anecdote about Richard:

The other day I asked Richard if he had heard about the tornadoes in the south. He said he had heard on ESPN radio that an Alabama football player had been injured during a storm. I suggested that perhaps sports radio isn’t the best way to stay up on current events.

This morning I read on Facebook that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. (I’m laughing out loud at myself for the irony of my last two sentences that didn’t occur to me until I typed them.) I called Richard and asked him if he’d heard the news. He responded “Yeah. I just heard on ESPN radio that last night at a baseball game as people got word of the news from their cell phones they started chanting “U.S.A.!” I laughed. He said “See? I can still stay up on things by listening to sports radio.”

In fairness, an anecdote about myself:

Richard and I had a great debate recently about the effectiveness of advertising. I was arguing about one form of advertising in particular. Can the people who stand on the sidewalk and wave signs for their business really be effective? This led to further discussions about marketing and I maintained that I was not generally influenced by advertising.

Later that evening I had the pleasure of Richard’s company at the grocery store. When I noticed that my usual brand of peanut butter was gone, I selected Jif. I made the following comment “I guess I’ll get Jif, beause I’m a choosey mom.”

You can imagine the gloating and that came in minutes that followed. And the hours. And the days.

The fact that there are more pictures of Miriam than the boys is no indication of my love for each of my children, just that Cameron and Eli’s pictures all looked mostly the same. I just chose the best version of their phony smiles.

When I really get motivated I’ll dress all four of them up and attempt a picture of them all. (Or I guess I should say, Krista will attempt a picture of them all.)

Miriam gives me the expression above at least 1,407 times each day. I love it. And I am so glad we have it captured for the ages.

On Saturday Richard took the boys to the BSU Football Spring Game. Cameron was so excited to go to the Bronco field. Afterwards he told me all about the defense and how the offense didn’t look so good. Ever since the game either Cameron or Eli will periodically shout “And that’s another Bronco… FIRST DOWN!”

These jerseys were a birthday gift from a grandma who knows her grandsons well. This is their best action shot. (It had to be an action shot, Cameron wouldn’t just stand still and let me take a picture.)

I guess by having player jerseys and going to the spring game, we have taken our fan-dom to a new level.

Another event pre-Simon was Cameron’s St. Patrick’s Day race. It was the same race he ran a year ago, with Mark. It’s been six months since Mark’s stroke but he came to the race and it was a meaningful experience for me, and hopefully for Cameron too.
There were lots of friends there and they all wore stickers in Mark’s honor. Richard ran with Cameron and Eric (far right) this year. Unfortunately I missed Cameron coming across the finish line because I was looking for Richard, who apparently was having great conversations with Eric while they ran. Thankfully Grandpa Bird was there to cheer Cameron across the line.